Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
So I have already shared our goals with you. Which could only mean one thing in the planning process — it’s inspiration board time!!
But let’s be honest for a sec, k? There’s a whole lot of inspiration that we’re gathering from in planning this affair, and a good amount of it doesn’t fit into visual stimuli. So rather than putting together a straight-up inspiration board, I’ve gathered an inspiration amalgamation.*
It’s a bit much, honestly. So I’m throwing it all after the jump. Be brave and have a look!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Early Morning – Brunch Buffet, Cedar Rose Bout, Grapefruit Mimosas, Fab Girls’ Partay, Cedar Rose Headband, Photo Line
We realized that a Mendocino wedding would be difficult for many people– travel time and costs would be prohibitive. Therefore, we wanted the journey and weekend to be a magical escape for those willing and able to make the trip. Despite the obstacles and difficulties along the way, we tried to keep all aspects of the wedding focused on family and friends and our gratitude for the role they play in our lives. I am still amazed and exhausted that we pulled it off.
– Christen
The day before the wedding our close family, wedding party and their significant others, and out of town guests will gather for a game of kickball in a local field. I’m so excited for this! This is the reason I’ve always wanted a weekend wedding. I can’t wait to have some good old fashioned fun with my future husband and the people we hold closest to us. It’ll be messy, dirty, and a fantastic way to relieve any stress and laugh before our beautiful day.
– Brandi
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
-e.e. cummings
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Paper Garland, The Best Wedding Party Ever, Bamf Bridesmaids Knuckle Rings, Homegirls, The Broke Ass Bride, Snazzy Guys in Vests, Inspirational Florals
At a lot of weddings I’ve been to, I’ve either felt like I was part of the “in crowd” or I was on the outside. If I’m in the wedding party? I’m part of the in crowd. If I’m not invited to the rehearsal dinner? I’m on the outside.
Matt and I didn’t want to have those kinds of divisions at our wedding. We wanted to spend quality time with everyone. That’s why we opted for a Welcome Picnic instead of a traditional rehearsal dinner. In order for it to fit within our strict budget, we had to simplify: make-your-own sandwich bar (including organic meat from Whole Foods!), chips, watermelon, iced-tea, lemonade, and homemade chocolate cherry dessert with vanilla ice-cream.
The event was held at the same B&B where the reception was held. Approximately half the wedding guests were staying on site with us, so it was a very casual affair. People helped themselves to food and an assortment of fun activities: football, hot-tub, S’mores around the campfire, board games, a swing dancing lesson, volleyball, etc.
– Sara
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Picnic Tables, Adorable Couple, Mismatched Bouts
We wrote personal statements to each other, and customized our vows completely, looking boldly at our strengths and shortcomings, weaving in ways to keep us strong, grounded and connected. We also dedicated a section of the ceremony to making vows to the universe – pledging to be conscious caretakers our earth and her people, and to lead by example in an effort to help others find a way to greener, kinder lives.
– Dana
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Art Installation, Sweetest Engagement Shoot
Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder the things of the past. For behold, I will do a new thing. Now it will spring forth. Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.
– Isaiah 43:18-19 (via here)Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Prayer, Rearview Mirror, Hospitality, Pies Made of Love
I read once that a wedding reception is a bride and bridegroom’s first act of hospitality as a married couple. This drove a lot of the decisions we made: is this idea hospitable? Also, community. We have deep friendships with people all over the country, and we wanted to bring them together in a one-day reunion!
Also, we feel that our love of hospitality comes from God’s own hospitality towards us, and while we understand that not everyone has the same beliefs and traditions we do, for us it was such a deep pleasure to look down the rows of tables and see all our dearest friends and family enjoying one another with good food in community. For us, that’s one of the deepest expressions of what our faith means. After all the fun and creativity of a wedding is over, we are stuck with one another, and I believe we all need something — whether that is faith, friends, a common purpose — to help us remember our vows and love each other over the long haul. It’s what a wedding is all about, right?
– Faith
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Dessert Buffet, Best Photos Ever, An Awesome Reception, Pine Rose’s dance floor
Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing. There are many things below it, but there are also things above it. You cannot make it the basis of a whole life. It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling. Now no feeling can be relied on to last in its full intensity, or even to last at all. Knowledge can last, principles can last, habits can last; but feelings come and go. And in fact, whatever people say, the state called “being in love” usually does not last. If the old fairy-tale ending “They lived happily ever after” is taken to mean “They felt for the next fifty years exactly as they felt the day before they were married,” then it says what probably never was nor ever could be true, and would be highly undesirable if it were. Who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years? What would become of your work, your appetite, your sleep, your friendships? But, of course, ceasing to be “in love” need not mean ceasing to love.
Love in this second sense–love as distinct from “being in love”–is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by the grace which both ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other. They can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be “in love” with someone else.
“Being in love” first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise.
It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it.
-CS Lewis, Mere Christianity
*BOOYAH big rhyming words!!